Ascendion - Android Developer - Kotlin Platform

Overview

We are seeking a Android developer who can operate simultaneously as a developer, architect, researcher, and problem solver someone who understands that the most difficult challenges are not always solvable through documentation alone.

Role Summary

This role is not limited to implementing tickets.

A Successful Candidate Will

• Design, build, and evolve a production-grade Android application written in Kotlin
• Independently research Android OS behaviors, limitations, and undocumented edge cases (prior to Android 11, Android 11+ and Android 15+)
• Translate legal, compliance, and business requirements into reliable technical solutions
• Think holistically about architecture, performance, security, and long-term maintainability
• Act as a technical partner to product, security, and leadership teams
  
  

This is a role for someone who is comfortable operating in ambiguity and is expected to propose solutions, not just execute instructions.

Core Responsibilities

Android Application Development :

• Design and implement Android features in Kotlin, following modern Android architecture patterns (MVVM, clean architecture, modularization)
• Develop and maintain logic for targeted data collection from Android sources including :
• SMS, MMS, RCS
• Media and photo galleries
• Voicemail and audio artifacts
• System and application metadata
• Future Applications
• Ensure compatibility across multiple Android versions, OEM implementations, and device configurations
• Handle large datasets efficiently with a focus on performance, reliability, and resource constraints
  
  

• Own and evolve the Android application architecture with a long term, platform mindset
• Evaluate tradeoffs between OS limitations, user permissions, privacy constraints, and business needs
• Design solutions that are resilient to Android OS changes, OEM customizations, and security controls
• Collaborate with backend and platform teams to define clean, stable interfaces and contracts
  
  

• Perform hands on R&D to explore :
• Android OS internals and behavior
• Permission models and access boundaries
• OEM specific constraints and edge cases
• Prototype and validate approaches before production implementation
• Stay current with Android platform changes and assess their impact proactively
  
  

• Diagnose complex production issues involving :
• Device-specific behavior
• OS version fragmentation
• Performance degradation or data inconsistencies
• Instrument the application with logging, metrics, and traces
• Integrate and leverage Datadog for :
• Runtime diagnostics
• Error tracking
• Performance monitoring
• Participate in root cause analysis and post incident remediation
  
  

• Understand how technical decisions impact:
• Legal defensibility
• Chain of custody requirements
• Client trust and regulatory obligations
• Translate business objectives into practical technical implementations
• Proactively raise risks, constraints, or alternative approaches when necessary
  
  

• 7+ years of professional Android development experience
• Expert level proficiency in Kotlin
• Deep understanding of Android OS internals, permissions, storage, and background execution
• Proven experience debugging complex, real-world Android issues across diverse devices
• Experience integrating logging, monitoring, and observability tools (e.g., Datadog)
• Strong architectural reasoning skills and ability to design systems beyond immediate requirements
• Ability to work independently with minimal direction in complex problem spaces
  
  

• Experience with data extraction, forensics, compliance, or eDiscovery adjacent domains
• Familiarity with secure data handling, encryption, and audit logging
• Experience dealing with OEM-specific Android behaviors (Samsung, Pixel, etc.)
• Exposure to reverse engineering, undocumented APIs, or creative problem solving within OS constraints
• Prior ownership of a production Android application used in high risk or regulated environments
  
  

• You proactively identify and solve problems before they become blockers
• You propose architectural improvements grounded in real-world constraints
• You can explain why a solution works, not just how it was implemented
• You operate comfortably at the intersection of engineering, business, and compliance
• You raise the technical bar for the entire Android platform at ModeOne
  
  

(ref:hirist.tech)